JSICJJBLJLaICLFt., Proprietor.] NEW SERIES, ffwiji fßraucrat. A weekly Democratic c -*=a- ->■*•?* paper, devote t to Pol- 'Vv tics. News, the Arts , •,j --and Sciences A.*. Pub- A fished every Wednes- _ day, at Tunkhannock, I'f 'V' Wyoming County, Pa. M —' RY HARVEY SICKLER. - Terms —1 copy 1 year, (tn advance) $1.50. I fl'jt pain within six months, 82.00 will be charged ADVERTISING. 10 /ines or| , f j ! I less, make three {four j tiro three > si.r ■ one one square iceeks,iceeks mo'th.mo'th moth year 1 Square" Too "uTv 2.25 2=7' 300 5,00 2 do. 2,0U 2,50 3.25 3 50, 4,50 i 6,00 3 do. diuO, 3,75 1,75 5,50 < 7,00 9,00 I Cclutnn. TOO 4,50 6.50 9.00' 10,0P< 15.00 do 600 7,00,10.00 12.00t 17.00*25,00 do 8 00' 0.50 14.00 18,00; 25,00'35.00 1 do. 10,001 12,00'17,00 22.00 28,00 40,00 Business Cards of one square, with paper, $5. JOB WOBK of all kinds neatly executed, an l at prices to suit the times. sittsiiuss Uotiffs. i:o. . TIITTON, ATTORNEY AT 1 fcW Ajr Tunkhannock, Pa. Office m Btaik s Biick lilock, Tioga street. IT7 IH. M. I'!ATT. ATTORNEY AT LAW, Of- V? free in Stark's Brick Block, Tioga St., iunk r.acnwck, Pa. p K.fkS. W, LITTLE ATTORNEY'S AT, I t LAW, Office on Tioga street, Tunkhann- k fa. (T S. COOPEB, PHYSICIAN A FVRGFJC I JL. Newton Centre. Luxerne County Pa. f IMB FOR /ARMERS, AS A FERTILIZE ' j for salo at VERNOY Wesboppen. Sept. 18 186' T V. SMITH, M I). PIIYSICT AN A SURGEON. -J • Office on bridge Street, next door to the Demo crat Office, Tunkhannock, Pa. t)R. T. <' DKrKKR . PHYSICIAN v SURGEON, Would respectfully announce to the. citizens of Wy oming that he has located at Tunkhannock where he will pre,rr.ptly attend to a!! call-" in the lino of bis profession. Will b" found at home on .'aturdays of each week. WALL'S HOTEL, LATE AMERICAN HOUSE/ TUNKHANNOCK, WYOMING CO., FA. THIS etaLliiihment has recently been refitted and furnished in the latest style Every attention will he given to the comfort and convenience of those who patronize the House. T. B. WALL, fwner and Proprietor. Tunkhannock, September 11, 1861. NORTH BRANCH HOTEL, MESIIOPPEN, WYOMING COUNTY, PA Wm. 11. COItTRIGIIT, Frop'r aAYTNO resumed the proprietorship of the above Hotel, the undersigned will spare no effort to render the house an agreeable place of sojourn for *ll who may favor it with their custom. Wm. II CCRTRIIIHT. June, 3rd, 15C3 Itais iotei, TOWABJDA, rA. D. B. BARTLET, (Late of the BBHAISARD HOUSE, ELMIRA, N. Y. PROPRIETOR. The MEANS HOTEL, bono of the LARGEST and BEST ARRANGED Houses in the country —It ts fitted up in the most modern and unproved style, and no pains are spared to make it a pleasant and agreeable stopping-place for all, v 3. n2l, !v M. OILMAN, DENTIST, AT OILMAN, has permanently located in Tunk iVl. bannock Borough, and respectfully tenders his services to the citizens of this place and armunding eountrv. ALL WORK WARRANTED, TO GIVE SATIS FACTION. ' over Tutton's Law Office, near th e Pos Office Dec. U, 196/. A GENTLEMAN, cured of Nervous Debility. In competency, Premature Decay and Youthful Error actuatee by a desire to benefit others, will be happy to furnish to all who need i:, (free of charge ). the recipe and directions for making the simple remedy used in Those wishing to profit by his, and possess a A uluabfc Romcd*, w 11 reieivo the euuie, by return mail, (carefully sealed.) by addressing JOHN R. OODEN No* GO Nassau street. New York. y3-n4O-3m0., DO TOT WISH TO RE CURED ?-n Bron/ix's ENGLISH SPECIFIC PILLS cure, i ess than 30 days, the worst cases of SKRVOVSJIKS.S— 'mpotency, Pretnatnre Decay, Seminal Weakness, Insanity, and. a 'l Crmary, Sexual, and Nervous Affecti tns, no matter from what cause produced - Price, One Dollar per box. Sent, postpiid, by mai on receipt cf an order. Address. JAMEe 8. BUTLFR, Station l>, Bible House New Y r ork. n3l-3m. M A Co,. USE NO OTHER !-EUCnAN'S SPECIFIC I ILLS are the only Reliable Remedy f or all Diseases of the Seminal, Urinarv and Ncnoos Sys tems. Try one box, and be cured. ONE DOLLAR A BOX On# box will perfect a cure, or money re unied Sent by mail on receipt of price '■ JAMES S. BUTLER, ' Station D. Bible Pouse New York, ,*s w-n - Ageat CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESS. "You have tot, as good Patriots should do, studied The public good, but jour parti jular end.- ; Factions among yourselves, preferring tuck To offers and honor*, as ne er read The elements of saving policy; BLTT LLEILV SKII LKLIX ALL TUB PRINCIPLES 1 H IT USILTR TO DESTRUCTION !" —Timolion to the Citizens of Syracuse AN ADDRESS To the People of the United States, aud Particularly to the People of the States whl ch adhere to the Federal Gov ernment. As members of the Thirty-Eighth CVii gross, politically opposed to 'he present Fed eral Administration and representing the op position Union sentiment of the c< untr,, we ( address urselves to the people of the Uni ted States : and our object will te to shun (as far as may he done within the limits 'of an ad ires-.) that there is good teuton foi ctianging the Aninmtstration ami I'. 1 icy ot this General GoVeiutiii Hl tnrotigji •iieiiisiru mentality of nulUaxo in the e'eccioiiu of im prest nt } ear. It is oui celled conviction thai men now in i nbhc station, who control the pone/ of t.„- Governmenr, cannot or wilt no pt rtbrm tl • on'. s w Inch are in ces.->ari to s".v the couti— j i\ and p t|eiuat< its bb.it let.. ,\iary o them are i iii'ro-wed o\ political ami p.-t- mo otjects winch do r;o| eopojt with the p. h! .<• welfare, and will iiui t-übserve it ; o;'u-i.> ii-ve litise or pcrvi rted views t>l our ••istem 1 tree govcrtuiient, or are inspired by ja— Hens whicn c< nnntiady mi-l- ad rfiein ; and •t,< opp'.Mtm-i or Congress are power ess to cueck I be m j irny, an i are unanlu even to -'.cniv -nch inves i .ration of the Execuiisi* Departments and of tin- conduct of G v.-in'- m.-nt ofliciaL, as wili prevent abuse and e.- eic h .tiesiy, economy, and tflicn ncy in the I public serv ce. I i loundlv, painfuiiy impressed by pas> it.g eVctits, we tern ft mi lite Prevnhnt of the I . S. and Irotn iht majority in congress, upon whom a!i remonstrance against misgovern— meiit would be wasted, to address ourselves u> our fellow countrymen at large ; and we appeal to them !o interpose in public nfla'rs. and by a proper exertion of their sovereign electoral power, to decree that these U. S -.hail be justly governed, reunited, tranquil tzed and saved. ENGROSSMENT OF POWER. \Y hat we propose to notice in the first poice, as introductory to our examination of public affairs, is the consolidation of all power m the Government of the U. 8. into the hand of a single political interest. *1 tie party of the Administration i.as not been subjected to any efficient check upon its action frotn an opposing interest or party, since its attain ment of power in 1801. Carrying all the Northern. Western and Paciffic States, wiHi a single exception, at the Presidential elec tion of 1860, and being relieved from all Southern opposition in Congress by the withdrawal ol the States of that section, it was able to do us will and pleasure without check or hindrance in the Government of th.- U. S All public patronage was iuOs d.ze i toils uses ; all G .vermneut outlays (and they were enormous in amount) were <jt — htirsed by its officials ; all public p war w.i-, wielded by its arm ; and this Condition u. thing* has continued to lite present time It has revelled in power, a , ;f j ( ,p 1n vitable necessity from its very nature and from the opportunities presented if, ii abused us powers; it has foigoUt-n or despised and trampled under foot ttie duties imposed upon it by the people, and tl e objects announced by it in the outset have 'em supplanted by others, which new inspire its action aud oc cupy its hope. No tiuth is more certain, none better es tablished by history, than this, that political ! power is aggressive; that it will always seek to enlarge itself and to increase its nomina tion. and that no free government is possible w here by the very Constitution of the Gov ernment itself, power is not made a check to power. Freedom is secured by the action and reaction upon each other of political forces, so organ tZ'd and sn limited that no one can absolutely nominate over or control the rest. And hence, the necessity of Con stitutions which shall so divide and arrange j the powers of government, that no sine'e in tcrest, class, or individual, shall be c irae su preme ami engross the whole tnas of politi cal power. Now the capital mischief (or rather source of mischief and evil ) in the Government of the U. S, during the past three Jear6 and at this moment is. that a single political interest or party, of evil con stitution, has obtained and exercised the whole mass of Government powers, free from VI check or limitation whatsoever. The fa tal results a-e obvious. It has been false to its promises made as the cmdition upon which it attained power ; it has broken the Constitution shamefully and often ; it lias wasted the oublic treasure, it has suspen ded the ancient writ of liberty, the " habeas corpus ," rendering it impossbie for the cit tzen to obtain regress against the grossest outrage ; it has changed the war into a hu manifarian crusade outside of any constitu te nal or lawful object ; it has grossly mia masnyed the war in the ctmdwt of militarJ ' .V "TO SPEAK MIS THOUGHTS IS EVERY FREEMAN'S RlGHT."—Thomas Jefferson. • TUNKHANNOCK, PA., WEDNESDAY, JULY 27 1864. operations ;it b* degraded the currency o 1 the country by profuse issues of paper IDOD ey and confiscated private property by a legal tender enactment ; find, to retain i's power, tha' it may riot in plunder and be subjected onorbeek and to no restraint from public j 'men, it has undertaken to control S'ati elections by direct military force or jby fraudulent -rbctions o. voters fr'nn the army. The-e ar- ru tna of ths re suits already achieved, and "the end is not yet " No impartial observer can c intern plate the future without apprehension of slil greater evils, or can doubt that 1 ' some real division of public power or it. lodgment in new hands is necessary, not merely to the E ucct;ss but in the very existence of free gov ernment in the United Stales, THE DEMOCRATIC TARTY. The evr? of unroot rolled paf-ty domination in government wi'l be great- r or less aceoul ing to tin character and otjects of ihe par y in power. The f> uiocrHtie part), which or dirarilv has administered thr Government of ♦hp 1 . S., cv n in the utmost (dentitude its p(<wei, ltd not fail into gross abuse or threaten the liberties of the country. AI •lough it r quired to be checked up .n •I'casii n, ami tha/ its policy and cuiduci -id u.ci 1.. 'ill j ( cud to rigid Moti'my against s>ue "i us p overs in nie priiM-.ples and d ft rim H t.. w Inch it t.< Id ; i,,r ; - fixed as I .':.bli-i,ed for it bv men o! lie m< -t sterling virtue and pr fond w IMIOHI, \VM jusil \ c • u pi. boned ihe nature ot free j. vi tuui. Nts not] i■ e da ngers t.. which they aie exp wd— Sir-ct Cons'rue-1 'ii of iho con..it Mnm, a spartpg use of the p.t rs of Govi-i nuient, Mitilerite expenditures and tqual laws, bt ct.n-e 'he articles of a political cited winch preserved the Government fr.in abuse and degrth.'iacy, kept the Sta es MI haruiouy, and Secured the growth and development of a material pro-pcrne unexampled in the history "f nations. Its great merit was that it whs f. ; constitutional party, (in the true sen-e of that.) term s UJ j, cting itself cheerfully, thoroughly and corstarnly, tp all the rules and limitations of the fundamental law. Its principles themselves, ceeckcd it and kept It within bounds. As its contests for pj vtcr were upen the very ground that there shnu'd be no over action of Govern men but only a due exertion of its authorized powers, there wa the less necessity to con front it with a powerful opposition. Yet such opposition always existed, ami was no doubt necessary to the safe and successful art ion of the G vermm-nt under its manage ment. THE PARTY OF I HE ADMINISTRATION. But with the party now in power the cast* is widely different, fis main t r< oath lies in States which voted gainst Mr Jell'trs n in 18f)0, against Mr. M.i lis ..i MI 1812, against Andrew Jackson in 1828, and against Mr. I'olk in 1854 : and it embiaces that school ( f opinion in this country which has always held to extieme action by the General Gov eminent, favor.i ism to particular interests, usurpation of thaie powers, laige public expenditures, and, generally, to construction* of ihe Constitution whicn favr Fedeial i;u fo.riiy and tx end the pretentions. Be * d-s. us i s.. r-t a!| .eciioua' ami agre-S'Ve the verv embodiment of that disunion par. tyisni foreseen and del i.ui cid by Washing, ton and Jacks n in <b se Far- well A 'dresses wh ch they left on record for the in-truction of their countrymen, and by Henry Clay in a memorable address to the Legislature of Kentucky. That it could not stately be ■u rusted with ihe powers of the Federal Government i 8 a conclusion which inevitably results from this statement of its composition and character. Bin the question is no longer •me of mere opinion or conjecture. Having been tried by the actual possession of Gov. eminent powers and been permitted to ex hibit fully its true nature, it has completely justified the Theory which condemns it; as will plain!v appear from Coi s dertng particu lar measures of policy pursued bv it. From among these we shall .-elect several for par. ticular examination, iu order that our gen°r. al Statement of Republican unfitness lor the possession of G'vernment powers tnay be illustrated,established,and made good against any possible contradiction. MILITARY INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS T'MS has taken place in two ways : First. By the selection of soldiers of the army to be sent home temporarily to partici pate in State elections. This practice, in connection with sending home on such occasions large numbers of Government officers and employees in the civil service, has changed the result of many State elections, and given to the party in power an unjust advantage. With the large powers possessed by the admini fration for purposes of war ; with the large increase of appointments to civil office and tho employ ment of vast numbers of persons in all parts of the country in the business of Government the Administration and its party have been enabled to influence elections to an alarming extent. The powers conferred by the whole people upon the Government, and the reve nues derived by taxation from loans which become charged upon the whole mass of in dividual pioperty, have been used iu an infi cato number of way# far party purposes and ' £ 4* ) la' to Ht cure to the Republican interest, in the Federal and State Governments, the continu ed p' saession of power. The injustive and cormptic* tendency oMhis system cannot be den < d,and alone sin uld be held sufficient to condemn the party of the Aduiiiusttation It is notorious that time alter time, /in the eve of dotthffitf eleCtD'tts, thousands of voters have Ik en seut home from the army to turn the scales between parties and to secure an Administration triumph. And this has bieu do a-, not upon the principle of sending home citizen - >ld er* t di -c> on n itely ami wi'hout r. ferriice to t.n-u policical opinions at dat rachinents, ( which would Giave been just,) but upon ihe principle of selecting Reptibh can a<ildiers,or of granimg fuCougim upou the condition of a promise fr m the persons favored that they would support Adnnrustra titjn Candidates. We luuiitiou eleoli'ns in New Hampshire, Oonneticut, ami Penn-ylva nia, as instances of such most base an l tin just procet 'ling, by which unscrupulous pow er has defeated the true expressiuu of popu. lar opinion, and obtained political advant wuieh were shameful to it and deeply injur ious to the country. Will a free people en sent to have their system < f elections thus perverted and c rrnptcd, anti expect to en j"V, in spite t ereof, the peaceable fruits ol g .od government and Honest rule ? Second. A - ill more grave offense a a::t-t the put it v and independence of elect tons has liven commuted by the Administration in the Stales o! M ssoi.ii, Kentucky Mirylaud and D 'aware. The particular circumstances A (' V'ltnneu' interference were sotnewha dtfl tent izi i.-ach ■ f these S'afes, tint the sut> s'anti.al facts in a!!, were these. 1. That tire tiulitaiy power of the General Government was directly applied to c ntr. 1 the eh.ot ious. and that offic.-rs and soldi, r- .l t e United States were openly used lor the purpose. 2, 1 !iat 'Tie Staffs in question were at the time in a state of jr< f< und jieace aru! qmet. and ibat with the exception oi a singie Con gressional district in Kentucky, no rebel raid or invasion into theni wa> then in progress or expected. i, Ihai in each of them there existed an adhearing State (int. mint nt,exercising coin plete and unquestioned jun-diciion under Governors and other Stau- officials whose de votion and fidelity to the Government of the United S'ate- were unquestionable. 4 That, there was n .official upon the Fed eral Government by the Executive or Legt*- laiure of any one of those States for protec tion acainsf domestic violence,(under the p u icubu- |>r< •vi - i >i of Ihe Const notion of the United State-, authorizing such ca'l,) but that th.- interference, in most cases, wa against the de-ire. ao-1 o-.tably in th-* case ot Maryland against the protest of State author ities. 5. That thousands of qualified person* Were prevented fr m Toting at those elections and in most of those S a'es the result of tie election was changed iiom what it would buve been without military interference. T i.e aged and tin id were deterred from at tending the elecm.na ; niant wh > attended wete kept fnih approaching the polls ; and in many cases, actual outrage prevented the legal voter from < xerci*mg his right. The tttll proof of all this appeit s in a number ot contested election eases in Congr, s.s. in ,ffi na! papers lr< ru the Governors of the States in qu -siion, in reports ~f c ouinutees of the Siate Legislatures, and from other reliable Sources ; and we recommend the whole sub ject, as ore of toai iul importance, to the ex aiuina'ion and judgment of our country men. CRKATION OF BOGUS STATKiwjU. The steps taken towards establishing a system of false and unjust represent aim . in the Government of the United Stales, should also be carefully considered. In the first place, let us consider what ha> taken place in regard to the Stale ot Virgin ia, In I8b(), Virginia had a popular. ion(tn cliiding slaves), of 1.590,318, Pennsylvania a population of 2.900,215 ; New York a pop ulation o! 3,880,735,, While the two Stale* la-* t named adhered faithfully to the Govern ment of the Uuited States, and have since borne on its behalf their proper share of the burdens of the war, Virginia revolted, and two-thirds of her population was thrown into the scale "f ilie enemy. What result follow ed as to the representation of that State ir. the Congress of the Union ? The compara tively small part of the State which adhered to the Union was recognized as constituting for political purposes, the State of Virginia ; an improvised Legislature of the adhering fragment of the Siate, elected two Senators, who were admitted into the Senate of the United States, and Representative from the satne territory were admitted into the Fed eral House of Representatives. The liberal principles of construction upon which this was done, may stand justified by the pecu liar circumstances of the case. But there was a further proceedmg for which no war rant of power or pretence of necessity can be shown, A part of the adhering: Virginia territory was permitted to form itself into a new State, was admitted into ti e Unfon un der the name of West Virginia, [although the Constitution of the United States declares that no State shall be divided for the forma- I ionof a ntw cne without the express assent of thu Legislature thereof] and Senatora thvrffrom were admitted into the UnHed S'ates Senatf. A very small part of the old S'ate, not included witfrin the boundaries of the new one, remained within our military hues, to be, as well an the new State, rcpre seix'ed by two uu mbersin the Spnate. Thus under Republican manipulation, one third of the ancient State of Virginia has four votes in the Senate ol the United States, aud may neutralize the votes of both New York and Pennsylvania in that body. The "Ancient Dominion," with a population a little exceed ing one half that of Pennsylvania, is repre sented by foui Senators in the Congress ol the UntVd States, and by two in the Con federate Congress at Richmond ? Pennsylva nia,ith her three millions ol people, re mains true to the Union, and retains her Rr rne r vote in the Senate ; Virginia turns trai ior sending two thirds of her population un der the Confederate flag, and forthwith has her representations doubled in the Senate ol the United States, and that, too, in defiance of a Constitutional provision forbiding it,and avoided only upon a strained construct ion or implication totally at variance with the plain fact. Against the plain truth of the case, without necessity, it was as-utred that the Legiilai urg of a Fragment, of the State represented the *hule for the purpo>e ot to its dtvsions and the erection there frotn of a new member of the Federal Uu ion. Wc pass from this case to speak of matter more recent. A State Government has been ut tip in Louisiana, under the supervision of a Mj. r General of the United States Army which, although it hol la the allegiance of hot part of the population, we suppose is to nave the ( rmer representation o r that State n Congress ; and in Tennessee ami Arkansas there have been proceeding* <fa similar des cription. The indications are clear and full ill it in these cacs and in others of similar charae'er which may follow them, the Pres ident of -lie Ur'Td States, through his offi cers of the army in command in the States to be reprecnte 1, Jim'ales and will dictate and control the whole proceeding for renewed representation, and upon principles most un equal, unjust-and odious. A reqent at tetnpr to set up one cf these hogu States in Florida, under a presidential agent,must be Trash in 'he recollection of the country, as must also be the military disas tor by which tLat attempt was rendered aboltive. But why refer to particular cases ? Why r.-ason upon events that have happened, or upon piobabtitttes which present themselves efore ns ? The President of the United States has, himself, in his message at the pening of the piesent ses?ion of C mgress, and in fits proclamation appended thereto, announced his programme for the reconstruc tion and consequent representation >f the Slates which may be rescued in whole or in part from the Confederates during the cxis ting war. '''be proclamation extends a pardon to all persons in be rebellions States, [except cer tain Confederate officers, Ac., j upon condi tion that they shall take, subscribe, and keep a prescribed oath, one provision of which is, that they will abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made du ring the existing rab. lhon, having reference to slaves, so long and so lar as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. And it further proclaims, ever in anv one of the Confederate States, "a number of persons not less than one tenth in number of the votes cast in such State at the election of 1860, having taken and kept the aforesaid oath, Ac, shall re es • abb-di a State government which shall be re publican, and nowise contravening said oath •uich State shall be recognized as the true Government of the State ?" This presidential piper must be regarded as the most remarkable one ever issued by an American Executive .he one tenth part of a population are t>> exercise the powers of the whole, and, if Congress concur, are to be represented in the Government of the United Sta'es and in our electoral colleges for the choice of President,as if they were the whole! | And this one-tenth is to be made up of men who will solemnly swear that the}* will obey and keep all the President's proclamations upon a particular suhjtC, issued ffurmg the present war ; not proclamations which be may have issued already, but future ones also, A more abject oath was never framed in the history of the whole earth. Was a religious obligation ever before required of citizen or subject, in any age or cuntry, to bey 'and keep the future and unknown edicts of the Executive wdl ? And if usurp, eil authority can accomplish its object, a handful of men in a State, degraded by such an oath, are to wield representative votes in the Government of the United States, and* enter electoral colleges to extend the power of the master to whom their fealty is sworn? The lawless and dangerous character of ihe A Iministratiou must most evidently ap pear frotn the f reg -ing review of its policy ana conduct regarding popular elections and the orginatian of States. Rut it 3 incapacity [ f not proii'gacy] will as clearly app.ar from an examination of it io hw pr<WK>9tion cf th war, ami TEIIMSI 81.SO PER AL^RZFVLS to Rome of those measure* wa will saw di rect attention. RAISING OF Taocr*. In April. 1861, at the outbreak of hostili ties, tho army of the United State* waa i unall and wholly inadequate to meet the ex ! igency of the war which had arisen. The President called for seventy-five thousand roops from the States to serve for a period of three months, and subsequently made otb* er calls. Finally, in the latter part of 1862, drafts were ordered io several States to fill up their quotas, and the proceeding for that purpose wa under tho State authorities, pur suant to State laws and some general regufa- )' tons ofthe WaijDepartment framed for'the casioiv Thus the case stood as to the raisin* of troops at tho commencement of '6 ana the troops in service at that date consis ted of the Regular Army of the United States as it stood at the outbreak of hostilp-, ties, with subseqnent enlistments added, and * of volunteers anddralted militia of the State* organized and officered as companies aad regiments by state anthority. Volunteering had at one time been checked by the Ad ministration, upon a statement by it that all the troops needed were already in service.— Soon, however, the demand for men wa* re newed, and at the beginning of 1863 tbo number called lor raised had become enorm ous. But for the after purposes of the Ad ministration it was perfectly feasible for it to call for additional troops in tbe manner heretofore practiced, which involved State atsistance.and co-operation and secured to the troops raised their regular organization as State militia under the laws of their re spective States. The army bore, mainly, tho character of a public force contributed by tbo Slates under the fifteenth and sixteenth clauses of the eighth section of the first arti cle of the Constitution, which authorize Con* 1 gross "To provide for calling forth tho militia to execute the laws of the Unioa, suppress insurrection, and rebel invasions," and * to provide for organizing, arming and disciplin. ing the militia, and for governing such part of thi mas may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to tbe State* respectively the appointment of tbe offioera," Ac. The power of the Federal Government to call for troops, and the power of tbe States to supply them, organizing them into companies and regira ents and appointing their officers were unquestionable, a? was also the power of the States to select those troops which they were to contribute, by draft or lot. CONSCRIPTION. But early in 1563 anew system for the raising of troops was established by act of Congress. This was a system of conscription (ihe word and idea being borrowed from the Fiench,) and was without example in tbf "* history of the United States. Passing by the State authorities and by the clauses of the.Constitation above mentioned, it put tha General Government in direct communication with the whole armsbearing population of the country, and as r umed for the Genens Government exclusive and absolute control over the whole proceeding of raising troops. The validity of this encantment has been questioned, and it is one of the debatable poin's which belong to the history ol tbe war For it has been argued with much of force and reason that the power of Congress to raise armies alibi ugh a general power is not unlimited, tnd that laws of conscription by it are not "necessary and proper" when the forces required can bo raised with perfect certainty and convenience from the miltti* of the States under the provisions of the Constitution above cited. But, passing thi* point, the inquiry arises, why was the former system, involving State co-operation, aban - doned, and a new and unquestionable one substituted? No clear and adequate rea son for the measure appears in tho debate* of the Congress which passed it, unless the suggestion mode by one of its leading sup porters in the House of Representatives than it was iu hostility to "the accused doctrine of States,' : he accepted as such reason. W* must, therefore, conclude that it was the policy of the authors of the law to deprive the States of the appointment of the officers of tire troops raised, and to absorb that pow er into the hands of the Federal Administra tion; that the act was the measure of a party I to increase its influence and power, and to | prevent the possibility of any partfeipition I therein by the Government of the Stato*. We believe it to be certain th*t thi* me*. j sure lias entailed great cxpeuse upon the | Treasury of the United States ; that it ha* created unnecessarily a largo number of Fed. eral officers, distributed .througheut th e country; and that, while it has been noraor.* | efficient than the system which required I State co operation,it has been much less sat. 1 isfactofy. | It is a necessity for raising troop 3 by con. script ion be asserted,thrn it would follow that the revolutionary policy of the AJministra. ! tion has alarmed and disgusted the people ■ and chilled that enthusiasm which in the i earlier days of the contest filled our patriot i army with brars and wil' itf veluntttrp. VOL. 3, NO. 49
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